


Missed Opportunities

by yourmooseyfate



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Pre Canon, Someone please give Five a hug, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 00:42:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17991602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourmooseyfate/pseuds/yourmooseyfate
Summary: Five is only ever sent on a few missions between the year that his siblings were born and the year that the world ends. He knows why, and it's probably smart. He doesn't care.In which Five goes on a few missions in the same timeline that he's missing, and can't help but check in on his siblings.





	Missed Opportunities

**Author's Note:**

> I figured that if people need to be assassinated in this part of time too, they don't usually send Five. Except every once in a while, they do. Whether it's because they need him, or they are testing them, who knows. Probably very rarely though. 
> 
> Also, I suck at titles and this has no beta. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Five stared at the piece of paper in his hands, trying to look completely impassive. He didn’t want so seem any more interested in this job than any of the jobs before it. 

In his few years with The Commission so far, they had never sent him on any missions between 1989 and 2019. He knew why. He didn’t think that they knew what he was planning, but they probably thought that it would be a temptation for him. If he weren’t already planning to go back, this would definitely push him closer to that edge. 

He folded the piece of paper perfectly in half and then folded it in half again, the same way that he did with every singe job that was passed over to him. He jammed it into his pocket. He needed to focus on the job. He couldn’t get sidetracked, or he could ruin all of his plans. He flipped the edges of the briefcase up and let it take him where he needed to be. 

He had thought about stealing a briefcase before, about ignoring all of his calculations and using his job kit to get him where he needed to go. He knew it would be in vain though. The briefcases were constantly monitored. If he tried to jump to his family with one, not only did he risk never completing the jump, but The Commission would be able to program any and all briefcases to immediately land exactly where he did. 

That would be inconvenient for many reasons. He had to continue to play along, even though every atom in his body was screaming that this location was 10 minutes from his family, and only a few months after he’d left. He just wanted to see them.

He completed the job in record time, and pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket. He stared at it for several minutes. He could pretend that this job had taken a bit longer than normal. He could stop by the Hargreeve’s mansion to see his siblings…he just had to be careful. 

He knew it was a bad idea, as he planted himself firmly on the sidewalk outside of the place he had desperately wanted to escape all of those years ago, and longed to go in. He felt weird to be happy that it was standing again. It would be easy, to jump through space, into the building and see his family. He just wasn’t sure that he’d ever be able to leave if he did. 

“Ben, stop!” He jerked his head to see three of them making their way down the sidewalk towards the house. It was Klaus, Ben, and trailing behind them in silence with hunched shoulders was Vanya. Ben was laughing, and Klaus was scowling. 

“Sorry, sorry!” Ben apologized, laughing. “I just…you should have seen the look on your face!” Klaus smiled, whatever infraction had just happened didn’t seem to bother him all that much. 

Five drank in their faces greedily, having not seen anything but Klaus’ dead body and Vanya’s photos on her book, in so many years. 

Ben was still grinning, his face filled with joy while reveling in the few more moments of freedom before they stepped back into the house so filled with their father’s presence. His cheeks were full, and he was carrying a book that Five had loaned him under one arm. He was pulling some sort of candies out of his pocket, and throwing them in the air in order to catch them in his mouth. 

Klaus shoved him aside, trying to catch one in his mouth instead, and failed spectacularly. Ben tripped, stumbled to the side a few steps, and righted himself. Klaus took the candy to the eye, immediately fell over onto the sidewalk, and groaned dramatically. Ben laughed, and Klaus chuckled, and they both shot a glance at Vanya still walking silently behind them. 

Five realized now, that they were trying to cheer her up. She stared at them both, as though she couldn’t see them. Her face was drawn. She had small bags under her eyes, and was walking with heavy steps as though she was dragging a heavy weight behind her. Klaus and Ben shared a look.

Five frowned. What was wrong with her? 

“Vanya,” Klaus said, still sitting on the ground. “Will you please help me up?” 

He was being dramatic, but using her name seemed to get her attention. She seemed to be surprised to see him sitting there on the ground. She rushed forward, and clumsily helped the taller boy to his feet. He slung an arm around her shoulder, and they continued forward. 

“Would you like some candy, Vanya?” Ben asked, a bit timid.

Vanya blinked, and turned towards Ben. She nodded slowly, as though she was a million miles away and there was a delay in sending the signal from her brain to her body. Ben placed a piece of candy in her hands, and she pocketed it. 

“Thanks, Ben.” She gave him a forced smile. 

They took a few steps forward and Five realized that if they got much closer, they would see him. They probably wouldn’t recognize him, but that didn’t matter. He wasn’t sure that he’d be able to leave if any of them made eye contact. He also wasn’t sure that he would be okay if none of them recognized him. 

He ripped through space, just as they were turning their gazes forward, and planted himself into the alley nearby. His breathing was heavy, as though he’d been running. 

“Five?” He heard Vanya call out suddenly. His heart sank. How could he leave them again if they interacted? He still couldn’t help himself, and he glanced from the side of the alley to see if he’d been found. 

Vanya was looking around desperately. She scoured the area, while Ben and Klaus gave her worried glances. 

“Vanya, what’s going on?” Ben asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

“I heard him!” She practically shouted. “I heard him jump. He’s here somewhere. FIVE!” She called out for him. 

“Vanya, Five doesn’t make sound when he jumps.” Klaus said gently. 

“Yes he does!” She shouted. “It’s quiet, but it’s there. It’s a little fizzle-y popping sound. Five!” 

Ben and Klaus were staring at her like she was crazy. Five cursed under his breath. 

Vanya was rarely surprised when he tried to sneak up on her, and he had once exasperatedly asked her why. She told him that she could hear it, just before he appeared. A fizzling popping sound. He hadn’t believed her, no one else could hear it, but maybe she really could. She clearly just had.

“Vanya,” Ben was trying to sound gentle. “Five is…he’s gone.” 

Five felt something welling up in his chest. He couldn’t tell if it was anger or despair at this point. 

“No, I heard him.” Vanya argued urgently. “We have to find him.” 

Klaus and Ben shared another silent look, as though Vanya might break if they said the wrong thing. She was trembling from head to toe, though Five couldn’t tell if it was frustration or not. 

“Five has been gone for months, Van.” Klaus told her, placing a hand on her other shoulder. “I…I don’t think he’s coming back.”

Five gritted his teeth. He was coming back, if it killed him. 

“But, I-“ She started to argue. 

Her yelling had caused a nearby officer to make his slow way towards them. She had sounded pretty distressed. Klaus and Ben began to cart her towards the house. Ben and Klaus both looked around one last time, as though they wanted to believe her. 

Five took a few steps into the open, realizing suddenly that Ben would die soon. Maybe, if he was careful, he could give them a hint and save him. He started towards them, no real plan in mind, and the back of his mind was screaming at him that this was incredibly stupid and not according to plan. 

“What are you doing?” Reginald was looming in the doorway. He looked pissed. “Get inside, now. Did you think I wouldn’t notice that you snuck out?” 

Klaus and Ben hurried, pulling Vanya along. She still seemed to be searching for Five. Five was walking a bit faster, trying to catch up to them before they went into the house and let Ben die. 

“Sir?” A heavy grip on his arm stopped him for a moment. 

Five turned, glaring at the officer that had grabbed his arm. The officer, not expecting the anger in his eyes, took a step back but didn’t let go of him. 

“What?” Five snapped, glancing back at the door. His siblings were almost inside. Once that door closed, it was over. He couldn’t go into that house without The Commission knowing. 

The officer looked to the children being heralded into the house by their angry father, and then to Five. His face was dark, and Five realized what the officer must have thought that he was seeing. He thought Five was some kind of kidnapper or something. Five tugged his arm out of the man’s grip. He didn’t have time for this. 

He turned, just as the door closed behind them.

“Five.” He froze. The click of high heels sounded behind him. “Sorry officer, he gets confused sometimes.” 

He turned to see the Handler. She gave him a knowing look, and grabbed his arm to cart him away. The officer was saying something, he sounded dazed, but they ignored him. 

“The target was eliminated, but you didn’t return. We were worried that something may have happened to you.” 

Five knew what she really meant. They were worried that he had done what he had been in the process of doing. He said nothing. 

“I had a bit of time to kill, and was looking for a good place to get a cup of coffee.” He lied. He hoped that he sounded as detached as he was trying to sound. 

“Well, we have another job for you.” She said, and he couldn’t tell if she believed him. 

He nodded. She handed him the tube can with a name in it, and walked away. It wasn’t protocol to receive a job this way, and he knew that it was probably an excuse to come and keep an eye on him. He didn’t read the name, he’d look when he got there, and hoped that she wasn’t watching from a distance. She probably was. 

Instead, he glanced behind himself towards where he knew that his family was. He hadn’t even gotten to see all of them. 

He unclipped the briefcase and was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> I decided that Vanya can hear Five move for a few reasons. 1. She has killer hearing. 2. In the first episode (and I'm sure this was just an editing thing, but I don't care) when he teleports across the kitchen for peanut butter everyone has a delayed reaction, but Vanya is already looking exactly where he will be before he reappears. 3. I just decided she could and no one else can.
> 
> I think this will be a 2 shot, because he only makes two jumps into this part of the timeline, but it may be a 3 shot. I'm not sure yet.


End file.
